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Yingge (鶯歌) [1] is in Taipei County in Taiwan. Meaning "parrot song", the name of the town is derived from the parrot shaped rock outcropping slightly north of the town.

Pottery and ceramic fanatics will love Yingge. The town lies roughly an an hour south of Taipei by train, and is famous for its high concentration of potters and ceramic makers. Some potteries offer lessons in basic pot making.

Plan to spend a full day in Yingge to get the full experience.

Get in

By train

Take the south bound train from Taipei Main Station, a journey of about 45 minutes.

By Driving

From Formosa Highway (Highway #3), take the exit to "ShanHsia/Yingge". Yingge is the other side of Shanying Bridge and the Ceramic Museum is located on the left.

Get around

Almost all attractions are located within a 10 minute walk of the train station. It is an easy walk, though there is also the option of a bus as the Taoyuan buses make a stop at the Yingge Ceramic Museum.

See

Old Street is a continuous row of pottery and craft shops interspersed with tea houses and cafes. Prices on the ceramics vary widely (US$3 for a set of 5 dinner plates to US$30 a teacup) and is strongly dependent on whether they are for the fine arts or mass markets. When buying mass market ceramics, its advisable to check their surfaces for glazing imperfections.

Ten minutes from Yingge Railway Station is the excellent Yingge Ceramics Museum. The Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of ceramics in Taiwan, which it does through very imaginative and beautiful displays. The museum has a good gift shop and cafe. Address: 200 Wen-hwa Road. Tel:8677 2727. Open: 9:30AM-5PM (Tues-Fri), 9:30AM-6PM (Sat-Sun). The museum is closed on Mondays and national holidays. Admission is free.

Yingge Rock (Parrot rock) trail is a short trail (~20 minutes). The trail is located about 10 minutes away from train station by walking. The trail has three entrances. The main trail lifts up to the level of Yingge Stone, from which people can overlook the downtown Yingge area, Dahan creek and parts of Sansia.

Do

Buy

Eat

Grandma's Sushi (阿婆壽司), is a famous sushi booth in downtown Yingge. It is located in front of the OK Mart, 10 minutes away from train station on foot. Although it looks like just a small booth, there is a big basement seating area. Usually, people order to go, although some dine in the basement. A box of sushi costs just $25 NTD (less than $1 USD). Other than sushi, they also have miso soup ($10 NTD), steamed egg ($10 NTD) and some other typical Taiwanese dishes.